SWISS cabin crew pay in francs explained: the kapers GAV, the Zurich cost of living, the cross border commuters and what the net actually buys
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#1 SWISS, Zurich, five years, long haul, and Max wrote the SWISS versus Lufthansa comparison from Vienna. This is the SWISS pay from inside, because 'pays more in francs' is the whole forum's knowledge and the details matter.
The GAV
The collective agreement (Gesamtarbeitsvertrag) between SWISS and kapers, the cabin crew union, public, and the source for everything below. Pay scales by grade and years, the flight hour pay, the allowances, the rest rules beyond the regulator, the part time options, the pension contributions. Read it. It is in German and the kapers office will explain it to a member.
The structure
A basic in francs by grade and seniority, a flight hour pay that is the main variable, layover allowances per hour away in the destination currency, and the Swiss social contributions (AHV, the pension pillar, the accident insurance) which are deducted and which are the reason the Swiss net is closer to the gross than the German net.
What the net actually buys in Zurich
A new joiner's net after the deductions covers a room in a shared flat in Zurich (Oerlikon, Altstetten, or across the lake), the health insurance (mandatory and private in Switzerland, a real monthly cost that surprises foreigners), food (expensive), transport (the ZVV pass) and a little. A year three long haul crew member's net covers a small flat alone and a modest life. A senior long haul crew member lives well. Zurich is the most expensive city in this forum's coverage and the SWISS salary is calibrated to it, not above it.
The cross border commuters
A share of SWISS crew live in Germany (the Konstanz and Waldshut area, an hour from Zurich) and commute, because German rent is half. It requires the cross border permit (the G permit), a tax arrangement between the two countries, and a car or the train at 4am. The crew who do it save a real amount and lose the Zurich life. The Swiss have opinions. The commuters have savings.
The Lufthansa comparison, properly
SWISS gross is higher, Swiss deductions are lower, Zurich rent is higher, and after all three SWISS is ahead for a comparable roster by a margin that is real and not enormous. The Munich crew who moved to Zurich for the francs and stayed in Zurich mostly say the margin was worth it. The ones who commute from Germany say it was very worth it.
The part time
The GAV allows part time percentages widely used, in the Swiss way, and a lot of SWISS crew are on 80 or 60 percent by year five. The part time is why the seniority list moves faster than the headcount suggests, as Niklas described for Lufthansa.
For applicants
German required (Swiss German understood is the reality), a Swiss or EU passport, the permit arranged by the airline, the GAV read before the assessment, and an honest Zurich rent budget before the first month. The francs are real. So is the health insurance bill.
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#2 Austrian Vienna, and the health insurance line is the one Germans and Austrians forget: mandatory, private, a real monthly cost, not in the gross to net calculation until it hits your account. Lucas has the Swiss net right.
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#3 easyJet Geneva, the other Swiss contract, and the cross border commuter culture is the same at Geneva with France instead of Germany: the G permit, the tax arrangement, the 4am train. The savings are real and the Swiss opinions are real.
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#4 Lufthansa Munich, and 'ahead by a margin that is real and not enormous' is the honest SWISS versus Lufthansa answer that neither airline's recruitment gives. The commuters from Germany are the ones who win clearly. The Zurich residents win a little.
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#5 Frankfurt, and the part time being why the list moves is the Lufthansa Group truth across all three hubs. Read the GAV, read the Tarifvertrag, count the part timers above you.
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#6 SAS, and the Swiss model of high gross, low deductions and high rent is the Scandinavian model inverted: we have high gross, high deductions and high rent. The Swiss keep more and pay the insurance themselves. Different arithmetic, similar life.
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#7 Hamburg, applying across the group, and the Konstanz commuter option is the first time I have seen it written down. SWISS from a German flat. Adding it to the SWISS application notes.
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#8 Frankfurt, year three, and I looked at SWISS last year for the francs and stopped at the health insurance and the Zurich rent. Lucas's honest net is the version I needed then. The margin is real. The move was not worth it for me. It is for the commuters.
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#9 @niklasfra that is exactly the right calculation and most people do not do it. The francs are a headline. The net after the insurance and the rent is the number. Both airlines are good. The number decides.